Griggs courier., 1887-05-20
ROMANCE FROM LIFE.

Cif0 lower court Wntc0 declared
divorce obtained by the defendant
nineteen years ago from the plaintiff to
be null, void and fraudulent. created q
sensation yesterday. Mr.. Caswell is .
well-known millwright, whose office il
on Cherry street, and has been q citizen
of Nashville many years. He and his
present wife and family have won the
esteem and respect Of every one here
and in this great calamity the expression
Of sympathy for them is universal.
They have six children, one q girl Just
blooming into womanhood. On them
the blow falls heaviest.
The story Of Mr.. Caswell' 'sconnection
with the woman who has caused all this
trouble is most remarkable and strange.
Twenty ight years ago Daniel Caswell,
then young man, and friend named
Bixby, who has since died, went to
South America for the purpose
Of seeing the country. They
were both millwrights and hoped
to make money in their business as we'll
as to have pleasure. They located for
some time at Montevideo. One day
q ship from the United States came
into the port. Among the passengers on
board was fair young lady Of prepos-
sessing appearance and sprightly man
ner. She was the only lady except the
captain wife on board and was under
the charge Of that parsonage.
n CasweQ and Bixby went down to the
vessel before the passengers came off
and met the young lady, Miss Ann
Mary Willis, who was from Brooklyn,
N. Y, and on q pleasure trip with her
friend, the captains wife,. After Miss
Willis had gone into the city the two
young men went to sec her several
times. Caswell was especially struck
with her and sounded her praise to all
the circle Of his acquaintance. Busi-
ness called him and his companion off
for week or more to a point in the
interior. Several days after they had
been there news was received that the
captain Of the vessel had, after selling
the cargo and ship, absconded, taking
his wife with him. There was no re-
port Of what had become Of the fair
girl, but both friends thought with
alarm what must be her situation In the
foreign city alone.
Deserving their places they hurried
back to Montevideo, when they found
all they had feared realized. The
young lady was almost penniless, the
Inscriptions captain having taken all
her money along with the other Doodle.
Her condition in this city Of strangers
may better be imagined than told. She
welcomed her two countrymen as friends
indeed, as they proved to be. They
provided her with all the funds neces-
sary, and paid her every attention. In
three weeks from the day on which he
first met her, Caswell, whose sympathy,
added to his admiration, had grown in-
to love, asked her to marry him and
was accepted. That same night the
nuptials were celebrated. They lived
together for several years in South
America, and then the wife, on the
death Of two sons which had been born
to her, announced her decision of
coming back to her native land.
Her husband, of course, came with
her. About this time the trouble be-
gan. Mr.. Caswell, went to California
with Mrs. Caswell, who, however. de-
serted him and went to Brooklyn, her
maiden home. He went East and per-
suaded her to return with him to the
Western slope. She did so, but stayed
only short time before leaving her
spouse once more.
Mr.. Caswell moved to Illinois, where
his wife came and lived a>year or two
with him, during which time a daugh-
ter, living now and whose name is
Kate, was born. Not very long after
the little girl came into the world Mrs.
Caswell deserted her husband. He at
once instituted proceedings for q
divorce. While action was pending he
met and loved q beautiful and true
woman, Miss Mary Broodwell, from
Dayton, O., who was visiting relatives
in Belleville, III. When the decree of
divorce was declared he went to Miss
Broodwell's home in Dayton, o., and
won her for his second wife.
He soon afterwards moved to Nash
vile and entered business and has been
here ever since. Three years ago this
spring the first wife made her appear
ance in the city, claiming she had Just
learned where Mr.. Caswell was
and created sensation, the facts of
which were suppressed from publication.
She demanded money from the man
whose name she still bore, fixing the
amount at 100000. She took lodging
near Mr.. Caswell's house and was
often seen In the early morning in the